ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Three players finished in double figures to lead the St. Bonaventure University women’s basketball team to a 76-68 victory over Little Three rival Niagara Tuesday evening at the Reilly Center.
Redshirt senior Dani Haskell led all scorers with 18 points and finished one rebound shy of a double-double. Freshman Zoe Shaw added a career-high 17 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block while redshirt senior Nadechka Laccen registered 13 points and seven rebounds for the hosts.
Niagara opened the second half with a three that pushed its first half lead to 10.
The Bonnies (4-6), however, used a 7-0 spurt to claw their way back within three early in the third.
Six straight free throws for the Brown and White gave the hosts their first lead since the first quarter, 43-42, with under five minutes reaming in the quarter.
A Jade Rutledge 3-pointer with 2:54 left in the third gave Niagara a 49-45 edge before the Bonnies used a 10-0 run to retake the lead, 55-49, and never trailed again.
The Purple Eagles (1-7) tied the game, 64-64, with 4:32 to play, but Haskell responded with a basket on the following possession to give the Bonnies back their lead.
Niagara pulled back within two, 70-68, with 1:14 on the clock.
That is as close as the Purple Eagles would get as they were forced to foul late as Haskell, Shaw and Lena Walz closed out the game at the free throw line.
The two teams traded baskets in the first quarter as Niagara was able to grab an early 14-11 lead after one.
In the second, the Purple Eagles used a 9-0 run to lead by as many as 15 in the quarter and took a 37-30 lead into halftime.
Caliana Fenceroy and Marlie Dickerson had 15 points each to pace Niagara.